Nicola Rust and her husband Dave had been living in rented accommodation for a number of years, but with a young family they realised that paying rent each month to a landlord was just ‘dead money,’ so decided to look into the option of getting on the property ladder through Shared Ownership.
Nicola takes up the story. “We are both from the Basildon area and had been renting locally but really felt we wanted to secure our future for our daughters, Hope and Avie and own our own home. We had heard of Shared Ownership and decided it could really work for us as we didn’t need to have a large deposit and could buy part of the property with a mortgage and rent the remaining share from Sempra Homes.
“We were keen to stay in Basildon so started to look around the area, as we had family locally and it was convenient for Dave’s job as a Fire Protection Engineer as he travels by train and van. We were already renting a two bedroom house, but it was quite small so as soon as we came across Sempra Homes’ development Maplewood Court in the heart of the town centre, we were keen to pay a visit. We looked around the two bedroom apartment and were surprised how spacious it was and really liked the open plan feel.
“With the girls aged one and six at the time, being on one level was an added bonus so we were really pleased when we were able to reserve a ground floor apartment, as we didn’t have to worry about getting the pushchair up the stairs. Although the property didn’t come with a garden, we were really happy to have the patio area that also leads out onto the communal garden.
Nicola and Dave reserved their two bedroom apartment at Maplewood Court in November 2020. The development features 20 two bedroom shared ownership apartments in the heart of Basildon.
“We had already done some research on Shared Ownership and were keen to purchase as large a share as possible, so we owned more than we were renting.” Continues Nicola. “Through our mortgage company we were able to purchase a 53% share, and only have to pay a deposit based on this share.”
“Having lived here for almost four years we are really pleased with it. The apartment came with integrated appliances in the kitchen and wooden flooring to the living areas and carpets to the bedrooms which really helps when you are buying your first home. The affordability has also been similar to what we were paying in rent on our smaller rental property, but we love the fact that we are investing in our future.
“The whole buying process with Sempra Homes was really straight forward and I would highly recommend Shared Ownership to anyone wanting to get on the property ladder. They kept in touch with us throughout the process and we are now considering moving to another Sempra Homes development so that we have more space as our daughters get older.
“We also know that when we come to selling our current home, it is really going to appeal to first time buyers as the development is in a perfect location, close to the town centre and railway station – we couldn’t be any better located for everything!”
To register your interest please visit www.semprahomes.co.uk
